Experienced ice hockey influencer Erkka Westerlund lost to Heikki Hietase in the election for the president of the Ice Hockey League. According to Westerlund, the federal council did not want a change.
Pertti Lappalainen,
Sari Sirkki
Erkka Westerlund clearly the early favorite lost in the Jääkieksoliitto presidential election Heikki Hietase. Hietanen was elected as the president of the union in the vote of the federal council by votes of 26–6.
Westerlund told after the meeting of the federal council that the preliminaries of the presidential race were already clear. Hietanen was already strong beforehand.
According to Westerlund, he himself would have represented the change as chairman.
– One of my big themes was that there needs to be a cultural change in hockey and the ways of working. Heikki represented permanence and I represented change.
– However, the opinion of the Federal Council was that the current operating methods are good and they will be continued, Westerlund shook in an interview with .
So the change was not wanted?
– That’s how I experienced it. I would have hoped that our hockey culture and its actions would be able to be carried forward sufficiently, so that we can even keep up with society, Westerlund answered.
Westerlund admitted that the result was expected and that’s why he wasn’t disappointed. However, the big difference in the number of votes made the experienced puck man think.
– The clear difference left me wondering. I couldn’t wake up the council members. If they think that this is the way to go, this is the way to go, 66-year-old Westerlund reflected.
He sees hockey and sports as an important part of society. According to the former CEO of Vierumäki sports college, things are not being done well enough in Finnish ice hockey at the moment.
– My thought was that this will not be enough for international success and the level of activity will not be enough for hockey’s social impact. Finland is not doing well at the moment and sports could have a really big impact on the well-being and vitality of the nation, Westerlund summed up the bigger social picture of the sport.
Westerlund, who became known to the general public as the Lions’ head coach, shed light on his own future in the interview.
The experienced hockey player said that he is actively involved in the activities of many sports.
– I haven’t been involved in ice hockey for ten years other than on the TPS board. The work there will certainly continue, we are just at the beginning, commented Westerlund.
The series system of the SM league has been talking a lot lately. The league said it would open the league to potential league winners, but the high price of the league license made headlines after that.
In Westerlund’s opinion, people of all kinds should find a solution to the whole together. The discussion is now strongly opened.
– I think that we should make our first series as hard as possible so that it is close to the international top. There should be a very vibrant series behind it, Westerlund explained his thoughts.
According to him, such an entity could mean that all the best 20 teams in the country would be in the same financial circle, so to speak.
Westerlund hoped that the new government will solve the most important issues of domestic ice hockey.
– Let’s hope that even with the current methods of operation we will reach a result.